FIVE
MINUTE FRIDAY
So now on Fridays a group of people who
love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just
right gather to share what five minutes buys them.
While the kids are changing into their
swim suits, while the popcorn is popping, while the dog is outside doing his
business, while the show cuts to commercial. Just five minutes.
Today, the prompt is: Lonely
What is it like to be lonely?
It feels like something, well, someone is missing. I think
of a figure standing in the mist in the night, leaning against a street lamp.
No one seeing him knows why he's there, but everyone knows he’s alone.
She sits at the counter in the diner, sipping coffee and reading
the newspaper. He goes to see the movie alone. Dance classes are full of people
who need a partner. A college student walks home to his studio apartment after
class.
All these snapshots are of people who are alone. But are
they lonely?
The man in the mist is there to smoke his cigarette. The woman
in the diner sighs with pleasure because it’s her ‘night out’ while her husband
puts the kids to bed. The movie was a happy coincidence; he didn’t think it was
still out.
The dance class vibrates with the joy of individuals
pursuing the dream to cha-cha, even if their partners would rather stay home
and watch reruns of CSI. The college student lives alone so he can study. His
ADD doesn’t need the added distraction of a roommate.
People can be alone, but not be lonely. I need to be careful
when I label what I see. The world may be filled with "lonely people". But some of them are mislabeled.
Linking today with:
Five Minute Friday
